Naruto: The Evening Saga
by Demod20
Summary: A continuation of "A New Beginning", follow the exploits of the daughter of Kakashi and Sakura Hatake where she teams up in the new generation Team 7 with Boruto and Sarada. What adventures await her and her teammates? How will this story change under new relationships and upbringings? Find out, on the tales of Naruto: The Evening Saga!
1. A New Challenge

" _It's been over a decade since the moon crisis was averted by the Leaf. Those who partook in staving the tragedy were chiefly the Hokage Kakashi and the team he selected to confront the mastermind behind it. But in the short time that followed, something unexpected happened. The eventual relationship that blossomed between a lonely pair, Kakashi and Sakura, became a wedded couple not long after Hinata and Naruto had married. Bearing a daughter of their own, they'd watch over her with love and name her Sakuya, after the evening which she was born from. Now being the day of her Academy's graduation, the child of Sakura and Kakashi sets off on a new adventure, one that'd leave an impact on not just herself but those she'd come to know as friends_."

 **Chapter 1 - A New Challenge**

* * *

Sakuya's day to be assigned her own Genin team was about to transpire. She knew after many days of grueling written tests and the relatively easy physical ordeals her graduation was guaranteed, given who her parents were. Even as a child she was given special lessons by both of her parents, encouraged since she begged them to teach her to do the things she heard about in the stories of them in action.

It took awhile, but here she was now, nearing the age of thirteen and ready to take on the days of being rigorously put to the test as an initiate Kunoichi.

Taking time to look herself over in her relatively comfy room, mirror adjoined to a wood carved and lacquered desk to see herself next to her cherry blossom adorned quilt covered bed. Smiling at her fair complexioned face, green eyes sparkling with barely subdued excitement that was a striking contrast to her nearly glittering silver hair. Having combed her bangs to the side, she wore the majority of it in a high-rise ponytail, fastened by a red bow her mother gave to her. Dark blue cloth protectors fastened around her knees and elbows, a pair of metal plated gloves with her fingers exposed and blue cloth wrapped around her palms were seen, matching her protected knees and plated boots. With a blue short sleeved shirt with a grey short skirt wrapped around her black shorts she fastened a over and under armed strap in the shape of an X holding a particularly special tantō in a brown scabbard partially hidden by her swaying hair.

"Alright, ready to go!" She spoke aloud with gusto, pumping her fist with a wry grin.

"Sakuya! Don't forget your lunch!"

"...right," Sakuya bowed her head with sheepish realization. Brushing the bridge of her nose she shouted out as she left her room in as clean of a state as she woke up in. "Coming!"

Exiting her room she'd tread through a cream colored carpet hallway, across from her parents' bedroom and the bathroom next to the closet at the end of the hall to her left opposite of her current direction. Walking through the family room she'd end up in the kitchen that had an open view of the garden outside, and by extension, the rest of Konoha from the hilltop their house was built upon.

The humble cottage was only thanks to the tentative 'retirement' both of her parents were in. Unless it was an emergency, they were left to work on their current occupations as they pleased.

She recalled her mom was publishing some written works about the better use of Medical Jutsu and other tactics that could be utilized with Medic Nin, backed up by her own mentor's lectures on the matter. She worked in the Konoha Hospital part time, more there to observe and help with more testy operations than to lead the place that a team of highly experienced doctors and nin were responsible for.

Her father, on the other hand, she didn't know exactly what he did. She remembered that he was a bit of a pervert, catching him once or twice reading a now dead end erotic comedy series. However she did know that he spent more time than anything just spending time around the small farm of vegetable and fruits they cultivated, while just relaxing or exercising.

At the moment of her entry to the kitchen, adjacent to the screen door exit to the garden pathway to Old Konoha, she greeted her mom with a bright smile. Her mother always looked beautiful to her. Having kept her hair short to just about chin level, the pink haired woman hardly looked more than ten years older than her daughter but it didn't bother her. Adorned in a simple purple apron over her crimson blouse and dark skirt, she looked like someone who was just through with several household chores, but made time for her child anyways. When she turned to greet her, the single purple diamond engraved onto her forehead was a an attractive complement to her features, making her similarly green eyes sparkle as she handed the bento box to the appreciative daughter.

"I know that the, er, _ceremony_ ," She stressed with a slight laugh. "Can be a bit grueling but I want you to have a full stomach when you get the chance. Knowing who you might get, I'm sure a familiar curriculum may be used."

"Given the weird tests dad's put me through during our training exercises, it's hard for me to be surprised in any way," Sakuya waved almost dismissively while graciously accepting her mother's hard worked meal for her. Blinking she looked out at the garden and didn't see her lazy other parent. "Speaking of which, where's my scarecrow of a dad?"

"Oh, pfffft," Sakura blew a raspberry at the coyness of her husband's nickname. Earning one in return, she just giggled and placed a finger with thoughtfulness while looking up at the ceiling. "I think he said he was going to visit an old friend at the retirement facility. You remember Guy Sensei, right?"

"Oh! He's the guy with the funny eyebrows-AGH!" Sakuya hastily tried to answer, only to earn a forehead flick by her annoyed mother.

"Not funny," She sighed with a whine in her voice. "He gave up that leg and nearly his whole life doing what he did for the Leaf. Mind your manners when speaking of your elders."

"Eh, sorry," She bowed in apology, earning a pat on the head that made her blush subtly with a subdued smile.

"I know you enjoyed his stories when he had the opportunity to vent. That barbecue we all had at once was pretty wild, but I'm glad to see he's always in high spirits," Sakura mused with remembrance about the get-together most of the graduating teams had not but a few years ago. While not all the kids or teammates had shown up, it was still nice to see people from war veterans to familiar teachers make their way. Even Naruto had enough energy to make a fool of himself and be the main attraction of attention, much to his family's delight.

"Uh, as much as I like talking about your past, I gotta go," Sakuya interrupted her mother's thoughts, causing the pink haired woman to shake her head and lower down to give her child a hug. Returning it back with a nuzzle to the neck, the girl separated with a wink and a thumb's up. "Don't worry, if I could Ace the tests the Academy sent me, I'm sure I can handle whoever they team me up with."

"Just be careful not to be too confident. You never know what they may throw at you this year," Sakura wagged a finger with caution while winking back. "Good luck."

"See ya, mom!" She cried out as she opened the screen door and left in a sprint. How the rest of her day would turn up was just her guess.

But if her instinct was right, it was going to be something she least expected.

* * *

Boruto was tired.

He had just graduated not but a day ago and he was already wanting to get this over with. The ceremony was more or less what he expected. Just another school's attempt of hyping something up, but with ninjas instead of regular students. Being on the cusp of being a young adult and already a gifted genius made it harder for him to take the formalities of things like this seriously.

So when he took the time to count the plaster dots on the ceiling, he felt himself jerk up suddenly to the sound and sight of his best friend walking through the door. Immediately his disposition warmed, reflected by his broad grin. Waving ecstatically towards the familiar sight, he beckoned the childhood friend to sit next to him on the third row to his left where he had a good view of the outside.

"Nice to see you make it, Sakuya," He started with a cheeky tone, his eyes wagging in an attempt to make up a joke. "With how frazzled you looked at the written test, I thought you'd oversleep from post graduation stress."

"Ha-Ha," Sakuya drawled out as she rolled her eyes with a half smile on her face, plopping herself right next to the current Hokage's son. His crisp, clean apparel of a black jacket with red lines with a sleeveless white shirt exposed and similar pair of shorts with open toed sandals along with a mint headband wrapped around his forehead underneath his curly blonde hair. Fishing out her own headband, she jingled it with a smirk. "But it's so worth it. I'm just hoping our teammate and leader is competent enough for our class to not make them look worthless."

"HA! And people say I have a big head," Boruto laughed heartily as he beat on the desk in his hilarity. Despite getting a few annoyed stares from their mutual friends, no one stopped their loud conversation. Looking back at her with an inquisitive stare, he couldn't help but tilt his head with anxiousness in his voice. "But, you do know we probably won't get teamed up, right? It's not like we-"

"We will, trust me," She countered timely, raising a finger up while winking between wags. "Trust in my womanly intuition."

"You sound like an old bag when you put it like that," Boruto commented with a snicker.

"Do you WANT to be punched?!" The Silver haired Genin raised a cracking set of knuckles while wide eyes stared with near livid anger.

"Eh, no?" He answered dryly. "Who'd want that?"

"If I got stronger from it, then YES!"

"I wasn't asking you, Metal," Boruto groaned as he banged his head gently on his desk, forgetting that Metal was only a handful of seats away from them. Raising his head up to look at his now humored friend, he just shrugged with a wry smile. "I just said that cause we're just now Genin. If you're gonna talk like an adult, at least WAIT till we're Chūnin to talk all sage and like."

"What's the matter? Does growing up sound scary to you?" She teased with a lean of her head, her ponytail swaying in a brush over her right shoulder.

Suddenly becoming solemn, the Uzumaki grumbled as he looked over his left and said under his breath, "If it means being like _him_ , then yeah, I'd rather not grow up."

"Huh?" She quizzed with a frown. "What does that mean?"

She didn't get the chance to receive and answer. Instead, their teacher Shino Aburame, entered with a clipboard with some thin piece sof paper behind each. While the Academy had always adhered to old fashioned materials and methods to keep the Shinobi way alive, it was rare to see so little material slumped underarm or in the goggle adorned sensei's grasp.

Clearing his throat, he addressed them in his typical dreary monotone as to why that was.

"All those who are seated as of now are graduates of the Academy. Those who did not were given a day off for reflection and a chance to work hard for what will be the next year's attempt to relearn what they failed to do this year," He explained, almost a bit sternly. Sighing when he heard no feedback, he almost grumbled but held back the inclination. Turning to wave a hand towards the door, he debriefed further. "Your designated Jōnin will come in one at a time to call out three of you. From that point on, you will all be teammates and the Jōnin will be your leader. Whatever he or she says, goes."

Clearing his throat, he placed both hands on the desk and beckoned without a glance towards the door. With everyone's attention fixed on a new figure entering, Boruto felt awestruck and Sakuya mesmerized. A young girl with raven hair with equally dark eyes wore a pair of red lens glasses, one that she adjusted as she dutifully stood in front of everyone. With a sleeveless deep red tunic and standard gear befitting a ninja, she also sported a headband of the Leaf, something that bewildered most of the class outright.

"Due to unusual circumstances we have taken in an exceptional recommended candidate who passed the same rigors and ordeals that you all had, just outside the classroom. She is a Leaf Ninja, let me reassure you, so treat her with the same respect you give to each other," Shino intoned, turning to smile calmly to the young girl. "If you would kindly introduce yourself."

"Of course," She replied in a soft yet serious voice. Looking at the class with a brief sweeping gaze, she bowed humbly before them just to rise shortly after. "My name is...Sarada. Sarada Uchiha."

Instantly, things made more sense.

Sakuya had heard things about the last survivor of the Uchiha Clan, Sasuke, who had been instrumental in ending the war. However, he had done things that were still seen with scrutiny by leadership in the world so she never got a chance to see him. Even her friend Boruto had never once seen the man. However, neither knew that he had a child, one to carry the blood of the legendary Kekkei Genkai, the Sharingan.

Fascination gripped Sakuya while intrigue held Boruto's line of sight. Where she saw something akin to a mystery of her origins and why she bypassed usual channels to become a Genin, Boruto was mystified by her visual mystique. Her slender appearance and soft voice along with dazzling deep black eyes that channeled something deeper than what he expected to see.

"Alright, settle down everyone," Shino grinned at the commotion it caused, but knew they didn't have time to have a full blown interview of the newly minted Kunoichi. Leaning to whisper something in Sarada's ear, the girl acknowledged with a nod and made her way up the rows of seats. When he saw her make her way to sit to Metal's right and Chou-Chou's left, he could instantly tell that the show-off pair Sakuya and Boruto deflated.

Chuckling, he knew exactly what they were going to act like when they were given the news.

"With everyone in attendance I will now be giving out the lists of teams," The Academy teacher began to rang out. One after another students exchanged glances, more than usually it was with people they were familiar with or that they expected -or secretly hoped- to be on their team. With one set told off after another, it came down to Sakuya's team that she realized with wide eyes just as their names were the only ones left.

"Sakuya Hatake, Sarada Uchiha and Boruto Uzumaki, you will be on Team 7," Shino finished with a heavy sigh, relaxing after saying so many names. Even after an exchange of glances were made he raised a hand to calm any potential chaos that might ensue. "Now that's taken care of, please remain seated until your Jōnin comes for you. He or she will call out your names and you will follow him or her. You'll have time to get to know each other before mission assignments are given."

Not leaving his place so no mischief could be made, Shino turned to observe the Jōnin that'd enter and call the christened Genin. Three at a time they'd leave the classroom, now at a reasonable volume of dialogue between each other while some were rapt with anticipation. Soon there would only be the trio left, leaving the Academy teacher reclining in his chair with boredom.

In the gap of time that began to stretch further and further, Boruto decided to make his move.

Combing his bangs ineptly back, he leaned around Sakuya to call out to the newbie, much to the silver haired girl's chagrin, "Hey, Sarada is it?"

"Yes?" Sarada turned with a blink of idle curiosity. "You are?"

"Oh," He stopped, clearing his throat and put on the best charming grin he could muster. As one could while shoving his childhood friend against her own seat to an uncomfortable posture. Thumbing up towards his chin he answered confidently. "I'm Boruto Uzumaki. I heard you're from the Uchiha Clan. Does that mean your dad is _the_ Sasuke Uchiha?"

"So I've been told," She replied dryly, almost turning away with disinterest. "Look, if you're just going to try and get chummy with me based on my bloodline, I'm not interested. I'm only here because my mother thought it'd be good for me to meet people my age. Other than that, I'm not here to make any friends," Tensing up slightly, she finished as her stare became more dour than either of the two could've cared for. "What good are friends and family when lies is all that ties them together?"

Boruto felt almost immediately deflated. He was just trying to strike up conversation, seeing as he knew next to nothing other than vague history reports about such an infamous Clan. The fact that one cropped here wasn't coincidence and he wanted to know more about a future teammate. But her embittered response was enough to render him silent and sitting back into his seat.

Sakuya, however, turned to glare at the young woman.

"Hey, there's no need to act like that!" She snapped, surprising Sarada out of her own quieted disposition. Even as she glared back with her own onyx eyes, the daughter of Sakura stomped till her hands rested on the desk and the back of the podium seating. Inches away she stared down the sour arrival and spoke her mind. "He was just trying to strike up conversation. You don't need to shoot him down like that. The least you could've done was say you didn't feel like talking. The Hell's the matter with you talking to your teammates like that?!"

"Hey, I didn't ask for him to be chummy OR be on my team!" Sarada shouted back, raising her voice to the girl who challenged her so openly. She couldn't help but feel angered by this strange person who lectured her. Something felt familiar and irritating all at once.

"That makes two of us!" The silver haired girl sneered while Sarada stared back indignantly, unaware of any connection the two may had. She was far too angry to think clearly at the moment in this moment of uncharacteristic temperamental venting.

Shino clapped his hands, causing both girls to turn and incidentally bang their heads against each other. Stumbling back while wincing in pain, the Aburame Clansman sighed at what he been woken up to.

"Please, try to behave. Your Jōnin instructor should be here any moment-"

The bug tamer didn't get the chance to finish his sentence. A loud bang of the door being opened made a panting brown haired man enter. Affixed with a long blue scarf with the standard thin flak jacket of peacetime Shinobi of higher rank, he possessed black sleeves with a red band wrapped around his left arm and a pair of open toed sandals. Other than the spiked hair, he looked absolutely...ordinary.

"Hah...Hah...S-Sorry I'm late...Hah," The Jōnin staggered in, resting his hands on his thighs as he struggled to catch his breath. "I-I was busy helping Lord Hokage to...to...oh boy, that was an errand!"

"It's fine," Shino shrugged off, standing to his feet and happy to be done standing alone in a room of hormonal adolescents. Placing one hand in a pocket while putting his clipboard under his free arm, he nodded to him with mature understanding. "I leave them to you."

"R-Right," He stood upright, grinning more confidently to relieve his senior peer of his duty. Once the bug tamer left the room, he turned and addressed the three with a fist meeting his open palm. An energy in his voice and actions made it hard to outright ignore their new leader and mentor. "My name is Konohamaru Sarutobi! I'll be your Jōnin for the remaining time you spend as Genin," As they digested his name and his status as their squad leader, he raised a hand with sparing glance to each of them. "I'm sure you all want to spend some time properly getting to know one another so I have a compromise-"

A loud groan from his stomach interrupted his speech, causing him to scratch his head with embarrassment.

"-let's go to Ichiraku's Ramen Shop? I'll treat you guys out while I get to know you three better," He proposed ashamedly.

"I have my own lunch," Sakuya answered with annoyance, huffing as she leaned back against her seat and stared suspiciously at her squad leader. "Isn't it improper for a senior to eat in front of their juniors? What a bad example you're displaying, _Sensei_ Sarutobi."

Wincing slightly, he saw Sarada stare at him unrepentant as well. The only person he knew that didn't have hard feelings was Boruto. Only someone closely acquainted with Naruto's family recognize him at once, and looked at him with big puppy eyes. The blonde son rolled his eyes and gave a nonchalant shrug.

"If you get it to go, we can just come back to the Academy rooftop. It's got a nice view and I don't think it'd be bad if we got an early lunch while we do our thing," Boruto answered with his arms reflexively crossed behind his head, a gesture that Konohamaru had seen his idol and rival done many a time in their childhood.

Bringing a grin to his face, he stood straight up with his hands on his hips, "Yosh! Then let's head off and get introduced!"

"Yay," Sakuya drawled out, feeling a tad disappointed it was about a Jōnin she didn't know much about apart from his Clan and ties to the past 3rd Hokage. Sarada showed no emotion other than neutral understanding. Boruto looked a bit excited if only because it was someone else he often spent time with when his father was more or less too busy to be around.

Gathering their food after a quick stop at the restaurant, the four came back to the roof of the Academy. While Sarada had a simple pack of Rice Balls and Skip Jack Tuna, Boruto with his own instant ramen and Sakuya with his bento. All the while Konohamaru feasted on several helpings of Ichiraku's. It was a silent, slightly awkward meal, made all the more apparent by the look of disdain the silver haired girl threw at the dispassionate raven haired Kunoichi.

Boruto tried to eventually diffuse the situation by looking over to Konohamaru with an insistent leaning gesture. Getting the hint, the spikey haired Jōnin sighed as he finished his last helping with a sigh.

"So, I'm guessing you'd like to know a little about each other before I tell you what's expected of you," The adult Sarutobi began, waving his hand to the three squatting pre-teens in front of him. "Any takers?"

"Well, you probably know my name, so I'll just say what I probably want," Boruto drawled out, looking pensively up at the partially obscured sky masked by traveling clouds of grey. "I kinda want my old man to get a hint at how amazing I am. I train with his Clones but it never feels like he's really there. But if I have to say if I have a goal it's to never end up like my old man and own up to the things that matter most," Looking a bit deadpan at his sheepish, familiar instructor he inquired with a bit of venom. "That good enough?"

"Boruto!" Sakuya snapped with a short jab to his shoulder, making him wince and almost fall over had it not been for his palms hitting the roof floor.

"Nah, it's easy to see why you're his kid," Konohamaru remarked, his eyes locking into Boruto's steely blue orbs. "Keep your head up, little genius. I'm sure you're going to be an amazing Hokage someday."

"Yeah, right," He dryly replied, looking more disinterested than before. "Ask someone who'd care for that stupid job."

"BORUTO!" Sakuya shouted loudly with wide-eyed anger.

"Hey, I'm just answering his question!" Boruto turned to angrily shout back at Sakuya.

"You two really are friends to bicker like that," Konohamaru lightly stated with a nervous laugh. Looking at Sakuya with renewed intrigue, he pointed to her which took her anger and attention off her blonde companion. "Sakuya Hatake. Tell me a little about yourself and what you want to do as a Ninja of Konoha?"

It was a reasonable if not deep question for her. She had no idea why her friend was acting more moody than usual, but she had a deep personal admiration for Konoha's mainstay vocation of the Shinobi and Kunoichi that preside in their peaceful village. Tapping her chin she looked up at the sky as the Sun peeked out from the clouds, forcing her to redirect her stare back at the brightly smiling Jōnin.

Grinning, she clasped her hands in front of her while explaining, "I'm just someone who was born to two incredible, if not odd parents. My mother is an amazing doctor and a gifted ninja at that. She taught me how to move quick, defend myself and master my own Chakra. She's kind and thoughtful while also being stern and authoritative. She really is a role model to me.

"My dad is almost the opposite, but a lot alike to my mom. He's cool and composed, almost to the point of looking lazy. But he puts a lot of thought and consideration into everything he does. He taught me valuable things and helped me understand the real meaning of being a ninja. He even helped me develop my own personal nindō.

"Never turn your back on your friends, even if the world abandons them! That's what I want to do as a Kunoichi. To be the one person everyone can count on the most. If I do that as an ANBU, a Jōnin Specialist or even Hokage, I'll do whatever it takes to make the best of my abilities for others' sake," She proclaimed with enthusiasm, much to his leader's delight.

Boruto couldn't help but smile as he sighed through his nostrils, keeping his slouched back stance on the roof, "Man, you have way more commitment than I do. It makes me feel kinda bad, sayin' what I did."

"Not having a goal just yet is fine, Boruto. You have time to come up with one soon enough," Konohamaru said in hopes of alleviating the young Uzumaki's concern. Looking over at Sarada, he noticed her being quite solemn as she watched everything neutrally. Her emotions were so guarded he couldn't tell quite what she was thinking. Waving a hand towards her, he tried ambivalently to engage conversation with her as well. "Sarada, got anything to say about yourself?"

"Not really," She bluntly answered. "I'm not here to be buddies with anyone. I'm just here to keep in shape and make my mom happy. There's nothing else to it than that."

"It sounds like you'd rather not be a Ninja," The Jōnin pointed out, cocking his head to the side. "Why even bother, then?"

"I rather not be the source of disappointment in my family," Sarada sneered, her hands forming into fists upon her lap. "My absent father is already one, I rather not take after him."

For a moment, Boruto could empathize with her. It was like hearing an echo of his own frustrations involving his own dad. But in a way, she looked far colder and lonlier than he did. He could vent and get mad at his face whenever he saw it. Him being absent wasn't entirely the issue, but the lack of presence in his family's life.

What was wrong with the young Uchiha to sound so bitter, he could only guess.

"You know, I'm getting real sick of the attitude!" Sakuya snapped, her forehead pulsating with protruding veins as she turned with an upraised fist at the now startled Sarada. "You got a mom, right?! You got to graduate from this academy, right?! Just because your dad's not around doesn't mean you have to make it known you feel like crap to everybody! You'll never be happy just sulking all the time!"

Sarada's blood boiled. Her being confronted so blatantly wasn't something she could simply ignore. Glaring hotly, she stood up and grasped Sakuya's collar in a tight grip, balling her own free hand into a fist. The sight made Boruto stand up and hold his arms up pleadingly while the Uchiha just stared back at Sakuya.

"What do you know of my problems?! Don't write me off just because I got issues you can't understand!" She yelled back, on the verge of throwing a punch. "You're not my friend! Not family! DON'T PRETEND YOU ARE!"

Sakuya felt as if they were moving in slow motion. Her arm propelling forward just as she could tell Sarada's was. They were too angry, she could tell. Her own inherited anger got the better of her and now pain was going to be reaped by both sides. Not even Boruto's sudden shout to stop could keep them from this fight.

That is, unless their Jōnin hadn't grabbed both of their wrists, leaving their knuckles inches away from each other's faces.

"Come on, you two," Konohamaru grinned disarmingly, still possessing his cheerful demeanor despite the fight that had rared to break out. "I know we got some chips on the shoulders but we should get along. After all, we're a team, and we should settle it as such.

"Speaking of which, I was going to tell you about this little test I got arranged for you three. Call it a secret Genin trial for you to pass if you really have the motivation of being ninja. You fail, you'll have to restart the whole next year with rookies and failures of this last test. Game for that?" He finished, eyeing the three with renewed vigor.

Sakuya and Sarada mulled it over as his hands released theirs slowly. Backing away they both stewed at the intensity they almost launched at each other with. One felt opinionated about her own attitude and the other didn't condone it. But the idea of their own career as Kunoichi being jeopardized made them reevaluate their petty grudge.

"Sure, I'm game," Sakuya wryly smirked, crossing her arms over her chest while cocking her head at an angle that spoke volumes about her confidence. "What about you, miss depressed? You think you wanna back out and take a year proper in the academy? I'm sure it'll be a breeze with the blood in your veins."

Earning a twitch of anger, Sarada coolly replied with a hint of venom remaining, "No, I'm fine with that. If it at least shuts your mouth and keeps your nose out of my business, I'm okay with it."

 _"...yeesh, and I thought I had issues_ ," Boruto thought with a nervous laugh, barely audible to the mutually aged girls. Looking back at his instructor, he just smiled despite himself as he gave a thumb's up. "Sure, I'll go along with this. But don't get surprise if I make you look uncool when I cream this test of yours!"

"Challenge accepted!" Konohamaru returned with his own thumb's up. "Let's meet up at the training field at five AM sharp. You'll probably want to make sure you don't eat for this cause you may end up vomiting. No joke, it'll be that hard."

"Tch, I can take anything they can, plus some," Boruto boasted with his chest pushed out, making Sakuya just snort with amusement.

"Get some rest then," Their Jōnin said, waving them off as he disappeared in the blink of an eye. "You're going to need it."

* * *

 **A/N** : So, I find myself doing something I thought I wouldn't have any interest in. Writing a continuing series based on a romantic One-Shot I did! Who knew that I'd be doing something so audacious as actually make a "What if" scenario into a story that'd go past the one chapter mark? At least, that's my intention anyways.

I know I'm a busy guy, both in RL and in the written works, but I can't help but want to write this kind of story. Sakuya is a concept I find intriguing to put to work and I hope I made her well enough to get a grasp on what she's like in the first chapter. Development is key in this kind of story, so I'll work on developing her as much as I work off on her team. Even Konohamaru will more than likely get some much needed character attention, cause the poor guy didn't get so much in Canon. Where will this story end up? Who knows! That's the fun thing about writing a written work with not much Canon to look ahead at. The possibilities are theoretically endless!

Next up is Konohamaru's "Secret Genin Test," which you should probably have a good idea what it is emulating. However, what twists and turns will be put in place to put the young talented Genin off guard? What is their Jōnin up to? Find out, on the next (eventual) chapter of The Evening Saga!


	2. The New Generation

Sakuya came home angry. Not the kind of anger where you're mad at the world or mad at your family, but the kind where you carried home a frustration you felt towards one person. It was noticeable, even as she attempted to hide it with a smile. That very thing was brought to the surface, even as she sat down to eat something meager for tomorrow's early morning test.

Kakashi exchanged glances with Sakura whom shrugged with a clueless look in her eyes. Sighing, the scarred Shinobi looked over and asked gently to the steaming Sakuya as she dug into her flavored rice.

"Sakuya, how did your team assignment go? Everything go alright?"

"Yeah, everything was fine," She replied with a groan, her eyes rolling. Poking and prodding some meat on her plate, she mused aloud. "If it wasn't for that bi-"

"Language!" Sakura interrupted, causing Sakuya to meekly avert her gaze in apology.

"Who?" Kakashi, less alarmed at Sakuya's direction of tongue and more curious whom made his daughter so furious.

"This girl named Sarada Uchiha transferred in. Some special exception, Sensei Shino said," She growled, poking her plate and spinning what remained of her meal. She hadn't bothered looking up at them as she looked down at her food with fumes she visualized coming out of her ears. "She just treats this whole thing as just a time killer, having no desire to do anything useful as a Kunoichi. What a pain! Why did I get stuck with such a moody...GRAAAH!"

Scratching her head with frustration, she only now realized there was no commentary by her parents. Calming down her eyes opened to look at a soured mother while the father looked a little nervous at his wife. It was obvious the name had brought up bad memories, but she had no idea why.

"Well, I'm sure she's just feeling a bit lost and in that odd place you kids get when you don't have a purpose in mind," Her father suggested with a wave of his own chopsticks. "I mean, my team had these compelling goals that set us all apart and made us a strong group. Even if we didn't get along, it's what kept us growing and moving forward. If she doesn't have a goal well...that can considerably hurt her ability to grow up, let alone get better as a ninja."

"I know, right?!" Sarada explained, stopping only when she saw her dad raise a hand for her to dial it down.

"But," He continued, lowering his hand once he was satisfied with her silence. "It's also possible she'll learn something about herself and possibly get a good idea where her life should go from this point on. Who knows? Maybe being her teammate is exactly what she needs. Being supportive for her now is far more beneficial for her than being critical, isn't it?"

"So, what, I have to stick my neck out for her?" She asked almost exasperatedly.

"Sweetheart," Sakura answered with a softer tone, her eyes carrying a weight to them as her green eyes met her daughter's. "Being selfless is the hardest thing to do, but it is also the right thing. That is what being a Ninja is about. Putting your comrades and the mission above yourself, as a team and not as selfish individuals. Understand?"

"I guess so," Sakuya begrudgingly agreed, knowing there was sense in what her parents spoke. She may not liking bending her knee to someone so high and mighty like Sarada, who had no motivation in contributing anything. Even Boruto who seemed to develop a moody attitude when it came to growing up or aspiring to being like his dad was getting on her nerves.

But that wasn't important. What was of course had to be the test that their Jōnin, Konohamaru, had in store for them. Returning to her meal with this in mind she'd get as much rest as possible for whatever came of tomorrow. She'll give her all, she just hoped her teammates would do so as well.

* * *

 **Chapter 2 - The New Generation**

* * *

Sarada was tired. It was expected, given she had to get up extra early to get her things ready and get a head start to the training field. Her mother had ensured she had her things ready and her uncles, strangely that were awake and active at this time of day, gave her their wishes for luck on the test. She was sure this wasn't anything to be worked over.

Arriving at the field before the Sun even rose up, she was certain she was the first person on the field. Instead, she found the one annoyance she became acquainted with to her chagrin the other day.

Sakuya Hatake.

She asked about her the other night, but her mother either was hiding something or seemed genuinely clueless to the name. Jūgo remained tight lipped and Suigetsu didn't remark on it either. Sighing, she did her best to keep her emotions under wraps this time as she approached.

The crickets chirped loud enough that her footsteps weren't so loud for her approach to be heard...or so she thought, till the silver haired Kunoichi turned to look at her over her shoulder.

"Oh, you decided to approach me," She spoke expectantly, though with a hint of surprise. Hands on her lap she was resting in a waiting pose on her legs as she awaited her sensei to show up, along with Boruto. "Here I thought you'd try and avoid me. Guess I was wrong."

"Hm," Sarada murmured out, walking up to be a meter away, looking around at the field with a stump not far away and a river not too far off either. A memorial stone was seen across the body of water near the end of the meadow this field presided, making it somewhat more significant than one could assume. Exhaling out, she realized that from what she could sense, no one was around yet.

"I hope they don't take too long. It'd be a pain if they end up showing up way late," Sakuya spoke to herself, trying to fill the dead air with something resembling a conversation.

"They'll be late," The Uchiha girl spoke assuredly. "It seems in character for both of them."

Turning to look up at her, the silver haired girl scrunched up her face with query, "How do you figure that?"

"Our Jōnin seems to make it a habit to be tied up doing favors for people, thus making his mainstay responsibility his least priority. That boasting boy, Boruto? Yeah, he seems to have his own goals confused with what's important," Sarada analyzed, finishing with a shrug. "That's my best guess anyways."

"I've known both of them for awhile. Well, at least Boruto," She replied to her, earning an interested gaze from Sarada. Smiling, she explained with a few gestures of her right hand. "Boruto can slack off when he's not motivated, but I'm sure he'll arrive not too long after us. After all, if he's invested, a challenge is always right up his alley to show off. Sensei Konohamaru on the other hand just seems to always be active. It's not that he doesn't know how to prioritize, it's just he always likes to do things, regardless what they are."

"You sound like you respect the two," The young Uchiha stated with a glint of intrigue in her eyes. "They aren't focused like you. You are a visionary, even if it's not to my fancy, I envy that. But why would you be friends with people like them?"

"It's not that I have to be alike in order to enjoy people who are different. Just so long as we have an understanding, common interests and a mutual love of something we can get along," She answered, smiling sincerely towards the invested Kunoichi. "Boruto's moody, but I think he's a great guy when it comes down to his heart. He's also a real genius, so I think he's kinda cool for being so good at what he does. Everything comes to him naturally, so hard work is almost a foreign concept, haha!"

Smiling partly, Sarada chose to sit down next to Sakuya regardless of her initial impressions of her. She didn't think she was entirely over what she said, but she began to get an inkling why she spoke the way she had.

" _Perhaps I may like being her comrade after all_ ," The Uchiha thought as they began waiting for the rest of their team to show up.

* * *

True to Sakuya's word, Boruto showed up not more than an hour later. He was far too grumpy, however, to make good chit-chat like the other girls had. The Uzumaki did notice they weren't nearly as hostile as before. Fortunately for all of them, the Sun would begin to rise and that was the cue for a smiling Jōnin approach from the woodland clearing beyond the meadow.

Seeing the three Genin rise in attention made the Squad Leader grin ecstatically.

"I see most of you are calmed down now. Going to approach this like mature adults?" Konohamaru asked pointedly.

Snorting, Boruto just points with a bold proclamation, "It doesn't matter how I approach this. I'm going to Ace this test and make you look like a sap, Sensei!"

Sarada sighed while Sakuya just slapped her palm against her inclined face, letting out a groan of embarrassment. Despite the show of non-unity in motivation, the older Shinobi just laughed heartily. He appreciated the gusto of the face of Team 7.

" _He's the spitting image of you, Naruto. Has my attitude to boot. This will be fun_ ," He thought as he reached into his pocket, retrieving a set of jingling bells. Raising them up from his bent fingers, the objects breached an odd sense of déjà vu to the otherwise clueless young Ninja. Chuckling, he made them clink against each other as he debriefed his team. "This is test is both simple in theory but hard in practice. Enemies will often hold an object of interest, making it difficult to acquire. In order to overcome that goal, you may even need to confront an enemy that is both stronger and more experienced than you. How you decide to get these bells is up to you to decide. Just remember, if you fail to meet my expectations, it's back to the Academy with you so you can try to figure out what you didn't understand about this test."

For a moment, the tantamount goal ahead of them was laid out clearly. Get the bells from their Jōnin and possibly succeed. It wasn't about beating him, but clearing an objective. Nothing in it said they had to defeat him or about them working alone or together. To most it was obvious that defeating a Jōnin, no matter how gifted the Genin, was like climbing a mountain with no gear or preparation.

But most people weren't Boruto Uzumaki.

Kicking off the ground, the pineapple headed boy moved with surprising speed in a blitz towards Konohamaru. With a hand reaching out to grasp the bells, the older Shinobi simply sidestepped away from him. Looking as if he was going to fall flat on his face was nothing more than a feint, his outstretched hand grasping the ground timely...

...just so he could spin around to spin a kick at the Jōnin's jumping legs, evading him in an effortless show.

"Hey now, I didn't say go," He warned, landing adeptly a few meters away, smile ever-present.

"Did you see that?" Sakuya asked lowly, already crouched in readiness just as Sarada had. Only earning a small grunt with no vocal acknowledgement, the Hatake narrowed her eyes sharply at the man not far away from her close friend. "Boruto's no slouch when it comes to speed. But he just saw him as if it was telegraphed ahead of time. Our Jōnin is the real deal."

"We have a bigger problem," The Uchiha pointed out, earning a turn of Sakuya's eyes to hers, following the pointed finger towards Konohamaru's upraised hand. A pair of bells still were open to see but out of reach. It occurred to her as Sarada observed it out loud. "There's only two bells. Either he's baiting us into splitting us up, or only two of us can complete this test."

"That's impossible!" The silver haired girl exclaimed under her breath. "Teams only operate in four. One Jōnin and three Genin. If one leaves, the whole team fails! There can't just be two winners if our team is to stay intact."

"Then it is more than likely the former as a mind game," Sarada concludes, exchanging a glance with Sakuya. "Boruto obviously wants to show off and complete this solo, but you're his friend. Think you can convince him to work together on this one."

"It's not impossible, but I say he's every bit as stubborn as I am and then some," She explained, huffing with a turn to look at Boruto's slowly rising form. "But sure, I'll give it a shot. It won't hurt to have him humbled a bit as we observe Sensei Konohamaru's strategy first."

"Point," The young raven haired girl agreed quietly, deciding to wait for a moment to see what Boruto decided to do next.

The son of Naruto may be confident in his own abilities, but he knew how to rein himself in for a little bit to analyze his opponent. Sharp blue eyes stared at the jubilant master, watching him stand lackadaisically before his junior teammate. He ran through half a dozen strategies quickly, deciding on a course of action in less than a minute.

Fishing out a kunai, the boy threw the knife towards Konohamaru's waist with a tag attached to it. Not giving a chance for the Jōnin to observe his missed shot he'd toss a handful of shurikens in a bodily clockwise spin, clasping his hands unseen in the turn to perform a Jutsu. In a cloud of exploding smoke what was a handful of spinning razor objects became enormous in proportion, easily being half the size of the target as they spun in opposing angles to become a wall of rotating metal.

Wolf whistling at the sight, Konohamaru grasped the scarf wrapped around his neck and whipped it out. In the unseen line of Chakra wrapped around the threads came a whistling sharp blade, cutting through the enlarged Shurikens, sending them into smaller pieces scattering around him. With his trusty scarf spinning around with one hand while keeping a grip on the bells with the other, he watched Boruto perform another Ninjutsu.

"Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" He declared, creating two perfectly manufactured solid copies of himself in a pair of smoke puffs.

"Perfect transformation and multiple Clones? You got a lot of talent, Boruto," The Jōnin praised him. Despite his sincere declaration, he didn't hide an air of mischief as he raised the bells to jingle next to his face mockingly. "But you've yet to make me even drop one of these. How are you going to get me with just three of you?"

"That's not what they're here for," The pineapple headed Genin declared boldly, inwardly counting the seconds that had went by since his first attack. While the senior Shinobi was about to ask, the two doppelgangers grasped their original and tossed him high up into the air, flipping forward in an arching motion.

The sudden hissing sound alerted the older ninja from the tag attached knife behind him. Turning around he watched the edge of the paper catch aflame, leaving him but a second before the whole of the projectile exploded violently. Far enough away that he was bough enough time to leap away from the fireball that ripped asunder the beach to the river.

But in his ascent, he watched the clones that were discarded from the ground reformed in the air, used as platforms to Chakra accelerate the point their sandals' soles connected. In a burst of expertly timed discharge, the blonde boy zoomed straight towards Konohamaru's bell holding hand. Fingertips grazed the metal and the jingling pair were slipping straight into his grasp...

...until he felt a scarf snake out like a serpent to coil around his arm.

"N-No-NO-NOOOOO!" He let out a strangled cry of frustration as the Jōnin whipped him away with prejudice to land straight into the river's surface. The crash was enough to make a large upheaval of water while the adult Shinobi righted himself in midair and landed in the middle of the hissing crater of the prior explosion.

"You know what they say about the tallest nails," Konohamaru sighed aloud, placing the bells around one of his flak jacket's buttons. In the few seconds he spoke, a handful of kunai were seen darting out of the buckling waves, straight towards his back. Without even batting an eye, the whip of blue fabric deflected the projectiles while barely looking over his shoulder the underwater Genin lied. "They're always hammered down the hardest."

Sarada and Sakuya were stunned. With just one hand and a scarf at that, the Sarutobi proved his mettle against a fairly well put together plan by their team's genius. Despite falling nearly into perfect aim of losing the prize, he redirected his attacker to precisely miss his goal and do so without using hardly any energy.

"Hey you two!" Rocked out of their thoughts, the two girls recomposed themselves as Konohamaru cupped one hand around his mouth to call out to them. "Your teammate decided now is a good time to start. Just grab the bells before noon and you pass. Easy as that, right?"

"Yeah. Easy. Right," Sakuya drawled out twitching a bit with annoyance. "Looks like we'll just have to settle any differences aside and settle this ourselves."

"Looks like," Sarada dryly sighed. Bending her knees and leaning her upper body forward, she briefly whispered out. "I'll mess up his balance, you go for everything above the waist. The more movement he makes, the more likely those bells will get loose on his jacket. Ready?"

"Ready."

A silent agreement was made to go, and the pair rushed off in their own swift sprints. Using Chakra under the soles of their sandals they moved at accelerated velocity, reaching their instructor in heartbeats. With Sarada wielding a pair of kunai in each hand, she slashed and jabbed quickly while keeping low to the ground to make Konohamaru make nimble hops and skips to avoid her attacks. Sakuya leaped up to launch a series of sharp jabs that were blocked and caught with one hand, twisting her around with only a few upper body motions to twist around to avoid her retaliating kicks and elbow thrusts. Batting her aside with an arching motion of his scarf that caught both girls sent them both in a sprawling tumble away ended the struggle at once.

Hopping from one foot to the other, Konohamaru grinned cheekily as he twined his scarf around his left arm and kept his hands cocked near his hips with eagerness.

"C'mon, I won't break a sweat at this rate," He laughed at them, making Sakuya grind her molars and visibly seethe. Sarada had creased her face into a frown, causing her to stand up at once with her teammate. Once he got a good look at the angry expressions did the Jōnin sweat nervously, stopping his hopping onto his left foot. "Hey, don't do anything rash, alright?"

"Katon," Sarada formed the necessary hand signs faster than the Jōnin preferred, inhaling back to spew forth a considerable fireball towards his way. "Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"

"Crap!" The Sarutobi swore comically, gesturing with his left arm to unfurl the fabric to spiral in a corkscrewing pattern towards the encroaching tongues. Forming a single hand sign with his right set of digits, he blew Chakra from his pursed lips to set ablaze his own scarf, causing the piercing spear to disperse the wall of flames in a sizable collision. In the shockwave that blew apart the Uchiha girl's Jutsu, it masked the single leaping frame of Sakuya, fist pulled back already catapulting towards his face.

"SHAAAAANAAAAROOOOOO!" She let out a yell as her fist nearly reached its target, caught by an open palm with a cushion of Chakra that buffeted the one she let loose. The Jutsu was cancelled, but the technique was strong enough that it sent him flying several meters back before he skid over top the river's surface.

"Damn, that could've hurt if I wasn't careful," Konohamaru spoke warily to himself, feeling his arm shake from the impact. What he didn't count on, was the pair of hands wrapping around his ankles from below the rocking surface. Blinking, he looked down to see two Clones almost blue in the face from holding their breath. It only occurred to the Jōnin that the young Genin had been holding his breath this whole time, waiting for an opening.

Coming up like a propelling rocket, Boruto's fist soared upward, aiming to smack him dead across the chin. With a scarf wrapped fist connecting into his ascending face, Konohamaru sent the body flying across the air like a ball to a bat. Seeing it crash into a tree not far away, it was only through a brief puff of smoke that made him gawk with cold realization.

" _There was a third clone!_ " His thought raced along with the sudden feeling of a fourth body wrapping around his back from behind, a small hand grasping his bells in the process.

"Gotcha!" Boruto laughed heartily, gasping for air all the while as his other two Clones finally relinquished their grip on the starkly surprised Jōnin. Leaping back before his instructor could swipe them, he hopped around till he returned to Sarada and Sakuya. Breathing heavily, he held them up with a giggle that only made the other girls laugh with disbelief. "Hey! Looks like you two managed to get him back over to the river. If you hadn't, I would've had to come back up for air and this could've lasted all day without an opportunity like that!"

"You're actually...thanking us?" Sarada acted almost dubiously at what she could almost assuredly see was a braggart.

"Hey, I'm still awesome, don't let my hard work go to your head," The pineapple headed boy snorted as he puffed his chest out and dangled the bells before the two.

"Tch, you knucklehead," Sakuya lightly punched his shoulder, grinning broadly at seeing him pull through. "You fooled us too. Here I thought you just wanted to do it all on your own, but you were trying to make yourself the focus of attention so that he'd forget about you and let us coordinate together."

"Eh, I did try to do it on my own, but I knew I'd have to be patient and hope you guys would pull a miracle. Guess ya did good after all!" The blonde Uzumaki admitted with a laugh, making both girls roll their eyes at his blatant initial disregard for teamwork.

"YOU THREE!" Konohamaru yelled out, making the three Genin turn with fear. Despite the loud shout, the Jōnin was holding his gut with barely suppressed laughter. It came out as snorts and giggles of his own as he covered his mouth with one hand while wrapping his scarf back around his neck with the other. Standing upright, he grinned and gave them a thumb's up to them. "Be proud, you just passed my test and in record time! I failed the last few teams for the past few years using this tactic. Consider yourselves gifted to pulling off a surprise team victory."

A weight of relief lifted from the three recently graduated ninja. Most of them had realized since a night of anticipation for today that what they had argued was simply a waste of energy and a fruitless venture. Despite them having flaws and differences, they still had a creed to uphold the team above each other's own personal views.

Boruto looked genuinely pleased, something that made Sakuya smile happily. Sarada too held a sense of accomplishment in her eyes, even if she came off as more reserved than the other two. Acknowledgement from a peer, especially from a high rank in the Hidden Leaf, meant a lot to the newcomer of Konoha.

Scratching the back of his head, the Sarutobi Clansman chuckled with embarrassment, "Geez, I didn't expect you guys to be this good. This new generation is full of surprises. I fully expected our ordeal to last at least most of this morning. Guess I can't pull out tricks that worked on my rival's team."

"Rival?" Sakuya asked, blinking with surprise at hearing this.

"He means my dad, obviously," Boruto sighed, placing his hands behind his head in a relaxed posture. "Those two have been thick as thieves since they were our age, him even younger. It's pretty clear that he heard all about how dad went through the same thing, just with less style than we did."

"Haha, your dad's team got thrashed big time!" Konohamaru laughed in remembrance, visualizing his old talk with Naruto recounting his humiliating defeat by Kakashi. Looking at Sakuya, he winked at her while mentioning, "Your dad, on the other hand, didn't even drop his book. He barely broke a sweat. That just gives you an idea how much this generation has grown compared to the last."

"Unless you're actually comparing yourself to war hardened Jōnin of the past, I doubt it would've been any easier facing Kakashi Hatake, the son of Sakumo," Sarada spoke intuitively, straightening her glasses while their sensei cleared his throat and nodded with brief admission.

"Yeah well, I won't ever pretend I'm on that guy's level. But I have grown strong as a rival to the Hokage, and I intend to be the next one if I have anything to say about it!" He boasted with a fist pound to his chest and an audacious laugh. "Hachidaime Konohamaru Sarutobi, believe it!"

"No," Sarada dryly retorted, looking completely doubtful at her Jōnin. "I don't."

"You can keep that chair, Sensei," Boruto groaned with a heaving sigh, already turning to leave due to the conversation souring. He'd have left, if not for Sakuya grasping him by the ear and tugging him back; much to his yelping chagrin. "OW-OW-OW, SAKUYA!"

"We're going to celebrate, Boruto, and you're going to stay in a happy mood whether you like it or not," She firmly ordered, green eyes boring into his with a threatening intensity. "Sulk on your own off time, okay?!"

"S-Sure! Okay! Let go, please!" He begged, already on the verge of shedding tears from the pain.

"You two are quite the pair," Sarada stated with an amused smirk.

"That's what happens when you end up becoming friends with one of the biggest, loudest show-offs in your age group," The silver-haired Genin retorted with a turn of her head, smiling as she released her captive. "But he's still my friend, for better or worse."

"Geez, you sound like you're married to me," The Uzumaki snorted.

"I-I am so NOT!" Sakuya turned on her heel and yelled at the pineapple headed boy, unfortunately sporting a flushed expression that ruined any denial in her voice.

"Heh, whatever you say!~" He sang out, already leaping out of the way of a retaliatory punch that hit nothing but air.

"GRRR!" She flailed, held back by Konohamaru by the collar of her uniform as she swung wildly with angry eyes.

"You three are going to be a lot of fun, I can tell," The Jōnin grinned enthusiastically, getting the feeling that their antics and journey had just begun. "Now settle down. With your test done, let's get in some practice and see what I can teach you before the lunch bell rings for us. How's that sound?"

"Awesome!" Boruto cried out.

"At least it'll keep big mouth occupied," Sakuya huffed with resignation.

"I'm always keen on learning new things," Sarada replied with a small smile of her own.

"Alright!" Konohamaru palmed a clenched fist with gusto. "Let's get started then!"

* * *

 **A/N:** And here we go! The second chapter! I'm actually a bit excited in what's to come from this story. Not just because it's based on a cutesy Spin-Off I did awhile back about Kakashi and Sakura hooking up as a request for a friend (for the record, naysayers, I Ship Canon. But I do enjoy the the possibilities of what this scenario can bring) but if only this take of the cast can produce new story writing potential. Especially with the Arc that's coming up.

Anyways, if you have questions please PM or leave it in the Review below. Hope to see you all in the next update, and please have a Happy New Year!


	3. The New Threat

Sasuke Uchiha has been alone for a long time. It was always easy to manage things solo, especially with the long trek he's made in between brief stops to civilization. The last time he had seen a soul was a substantial year, with his departure from his family being even longer. The transportation to various dimensions that he saw during his decade old battle with Naruto against the Rabbit Goddess, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, had ultimately bore little fruit for the amount of time and energy he exerted.

But the information he extracted upon a theory he concocted had led him to find out a chilling truth. There was an enemy far more terrifying in scope that the crazed otherworld traveler had created an army in hopes of suppressing or stopping outright. The White Zetsu were an ultimate trump card, capable of replicating any being's Chakra they came into contact with and able to reproduce via spores with ease. The ultimate shock troops that could have ended the war, had it not been Naruto's use of Nature Chakra through the mastery of the Nine Tail's power.

To need such a force spoke volumes for how threatening Kaguya's enemy may be. He only hoped that the Ninja of the current generation were prepared enough to properly counter this hidden menace without breaking the fabric of peace they worked hard to obtain. Once he found out the identity and location, he knew what he had to do next.

In the midst of his traveling, Sasuke felt something. It was subtle but he noticed a shift of movement along with menacing intent. It reminded him of the few times he felt it as a child when facing the likes of Orochimaru or the Demon of the Hidden Mist, Zabuza.

His right exposed eye flashed red with triple tomoe, the Sharingan heightening his visual prowess and searching for Chakra signatures of any kind. Seeing nothing at all lying in the brush of the forest he walked made him feel uneasy. His senses weren't so easily fooled through weariness nor he didn't imagine he had just conjured it from his own mind.

Deactivating it for a second, he tested the waters to see if the menace had truly vanished and let out an audible sigh.

"Just my imagination?" He queried to himself, turning to walk back upon the path.

A sudden sight penetrated his vista before a sound let alone Chakra could be manifested. In the blur of black and grey came a gleaming sliver of light that arched across the air towards the space just above his brow. Relying on his heightened state of awareness and own reflexes he bent backwards, grimacing as he swore the cutting edge of whatever weapon aimed for him had cut through stray bangs of his raven tresses. With his left eye already focused he'd witness a rupturing in the wind coming from the attack's pressure, cutting through the woodland in a loud boom akin to an explosion without flame or seen ignition.

In the middle of his dodge, his right eye reactivated, pinpointing his enemy and locking onto now clearly visible traces of Chakra. In the span of less than seconds he launched a kick from his bent angle to hit his enemy in the side. Feeling it blocked for the most part, he unsheathed his own sword and let loose a Chidori current through it to eviscerate his enemy in a inverted uppercut while busy blocking his leg.

His enemy swiftly jettisoned backwards to avoid the killing stroke, leaving behind a smoking slashed grass hat.

With both eyes focused on his attacker, Sasuke had a good look at the perpetrator. Apart from the muddied, torn grey cloak wrapped around him he could see that his skin was a pale complexion akin to a person who had never seen the light of day. Bandages were wrapped around the majority of his wiry yet defined arms, similarly to his thin toned torso apart from a tight jumpsuit of black that ran down his ankles to bare feet. But above all of that, the most grotesque feature was a number of eye sized metal implants that went from his palms to tops and bottoms of his appendages to run along in a parallel pattern up his chest and rest around his shoulders. Bald he was, he wore a black cloth headband protector with a single solitary scratch across what looked like a musical note on its front; right across his eyes.

"That headband," The Uchiha breathed out with dilating surprise. With his katana still active and bright with Chidori, both of his eyes narrowed towards this unknown enemy with alarmed intensity. "Who are you?!"

Grimly smiling, the sword wielding attacker planted his weapon in the ground and clasped his hands together. To Sasuke's eyes, his Chakra rose dangerously high as it channeled through his arms. The many metal implants opened cylindrical slots and released whistling currents of Nature Transformation that swam around his arms till they were nothing more than blurs. Hooking his thumbs, he'd point his parallel aligned palms as the slots on his palms opened, and fire outward...

...releasing a tumultuous tidal wave of intense screaming pressure that bowled over the earth and raced towards Sasuke in a flash of light!

" _This Jutsu-!_ " His last thoughts of recognition before he became overcome by the destructive power's might.

* * *

 **Chapter 3 - The New Threat**

* * *

It had been several months since the new generation Team 7 had been officially assigned and passed their Jōnin's test. From that point they were given the usual batch of D-Rank missions. From helping tend gardens, doing household chores, finding missing people and domesticated pets the grind felt tedious to the impressionable Genin. To make up for it, the squad leader had begun teach them advanced lessons about Chakra Manipulation, Nature Transformation and the elements they are most attuned to.

Thus, their repertoire of Jutsu swelled quickly and their ability to use their current techniques were only polished further. The training and progress they made in their own skills was the only thing to look forward to due to the mundane nature of their tasks they were given.

Just like their current mission.

A wild animal had been harassing a trading outpost that doubled as a small village. It was in between Konoha and some other villages in the Land of Fire as a fork in the roads of sorts. With the homes made of humble one story buildings, the trading building was large and took up a quarter of the location's space up to two and a half stories tall. Given that they focused mostly on trade, bartering and housing people in a humble inn adjoined to the main structure, it was rare for them to deal with anything outside of their expertise.

That was, until a giant panda began assaulting caravans that led up to its discovery of the small village. They tried using crude weapons and fire, but that only served to anger the creature, heavily injuring anyone who attempted to get in its way. Realizing this was a job for ninja, they called Konoha and Konohamaru's team was tasked with dealing with this local menace.

After a brief talk with the client, they gathered evidence in its most recent rampage where it could be located. They found it, looking to harass some girl around the Genin's age, with red braided twin-tails with green eyes and a lavender dress with a beige apron and simple sandals. On her haunches she attempted to crab walk away from it, but ended up putting her back against a large stone near the bushes she was picking. The savage beast was snarling, drooling with fangs bared as it squashed her spilled berry picked basket.

"H-Help me," She quietly whispered out, watching the panda raise a scarred paw above its head. When it swung down, she let out a terrified scream. "HELP ME!"

The paw crashed down with surprising force, smashing the stone as if it was made of plaster. In the smoke cloud that blew back, it'd notice that its offender wasn't there. Looking around, he heard a loud whistling sound. Turning to look around it'd catch sight of Sakuya, waving at the beast.

"Hey! Come and get it, big and ugly!" She mocked with a immature flip-off towards the animal. Whether it understood or not, the shouts and gestures were enough to make it turn around and stampede with surprising speed. Leaping out of the way at the last second, she dashed and skipped away with bulging eyes as the monster continued to leave c raters behind every impact of its large paws. "BORUTO! IT'S HOT ON MY TAIL!"

Sarada, having rescued the child, raced as far as she could to put distance from the ferocious animal and the girl. Finding a shaded tree not far away she told the little girl not to wander off so she could make her dash back to her team.

A loud boom was heard, making her gawk at the sight of the giant panda being sent hurdling into the sky. When her eyes fixed on what sent it soaring was she witnessed a pair of clapped hands with a back sprawled Boruto. The only conclusion she could come up with was that he slid underneath the mammal and used Wind Release, Gale Palm.

" _He sent that big thing flying that high?!_ " Sarada thought with disbelief, knowing that the young Uzumaki had only learned his Element Affinities a month or so ago. To have developed the Jutsu she saw him practicing to this level was incredible, even compared to her own level of prodigious expertise.

Watching him summon three Shadow Clones, they'd throw him like a bullet straight towards the now falling panda. Pulling back his palms, curling the fingers back, he'd heel thrust straight into the creature's chest with a thunderclap. With spit spewing from the eye rolling monster of an animal, Boruto flipped back to free fall with the now unconscious panda.

"I got ya!" The Boruto Clones shouted to the main body; only to be body slammed from the fall, making Boruto groan at the collision. Rubbing himself, he sighed at the soreness he felt. A looming shadow came over him, making him look up and hiccuped with surprise to see Sakuya's hand reaching out for his; while holding the behemoth beast over her head.

"Need a hand?" She asked cheekily at having caught the beast with relative ease.

Taking the hand with a lopsided grin, he chuckled as he was hefted up to his feet. Looking up at the smelly panda drooling unconsciously in an upside down limp posture. Shaking his head he gave his teammate a look of incredulous near disbelief.

"Geez, here I thought I was the show-off in getting that sweet hang time. But there you go, catching it as if it weighed like a backpack," Boruto complimented with a giggle, making Sakuya laugh on her own.

"When you go through my mom's strength training, you find it less demanding to lift big guys like this," The silver haired girl remarked, pumping her arm a few times to demonstrate her muscles at work in keeping it over her head.

"What do you plan on doing with it?" Sarada chimed in, making both nearly jump at her quiet entry to their midst.

Sighing, Sakuya looked back up at the animal with realization, "Well, we'll take it back to show the village we dealt with it. I'm sure there's some reserve or shelter that takes in these wild animals. It could've gotten lost or got driven out of its original habitat. Look how scarred up the poor thing is."

"Yeah, but it probably would've hurt that kid if it had the chance," Boruto mumbled, making the girls look awkward at that mentioning. Looking at Sarada, he remembered the child she rescued. "Where is she?"

"I told her to stay put till it was safe. I'll go back and make sure she can make it home," She remarked, already turning on her heels to disappear in a whizzing blur.

Just when they decided to go back to the village that hired them, they were startled by a instantly arriving Konohamaru. With Sakuya almost dropping the unconscious animal as she caught her breath back, Boruto pointed accusingly at his mentor.

"Hey, don't sneak up on us like that!"

"I wasn't. I just came by to tell you I watched you deal with the 'monster problem' as the locals put it," He grinned broadly with pride, giving them a thumb's up while propping his other hand on his side. "Once we go report to them and collect the reward, we'll make sure to drop our friend off in a forest clear of any nearby settlements. It should be fine not that far away from Konoha; meaning we can report to Lord Nanadaime!"

The arrangement made sense, but only a pair had extreme reactions. One Boruto looked immediately dour while Sarada looked elated. The Uchiha always liked the fatherly attitude he seemed to exude every time she managed to talk to him, whether in the couple private times or in person. She had gathered information about her father and her yearning to finally meet him, for better or worse, had grown so much her heart ached.

The Uzumaki, however, couldn't care less of seeing what he considered to be a deadbeat dad.

Sakuya saw this in Boruto right away, and tried to avoid the meeting with an inquiry to their team leader.

"Um, Sensei Konohamaru," She began, looking a bit nervous, averting her gaze from her blonde friend in case he'd think she was doing this to pity him. "Couldn't you just deliver your report alone? It'll be quite the walk there and I think we can all use a brief rest before we're given our next assignment or whatever training you have cooked up for us."

Exhaling coolly, Konohamaru's smile vanished and it became a knowing look of neutrality that told her he knew her intent, even if his words didn't confirm it. "Sorry, but the Hokage has to address all Shinobi and Kunoichi that go to assigned missions directly. You know breaking protocol will get not just me but the rest of your team in trouble."

"Alright," Sakuya groaned out, barely turning her head to see a morose Boruto, unable to tell if he noticed her feeble attempt to help him out.

"Hey, it's fine. I'll make sure if we have no assignments to give you the day off," Konohamaru reassured them with a uplifting grin.

"Yeah, doesn't that sound like fun," The Hokage's son droned out, making both girls turn to look at each other with worry. Even as the Jōnin did his best to ignore the obvious cloud over one of his Genin's head, there was an obvious feeling of repressed feelings that emanated from their teammate. It was the squad leader's faint hope that he'd keep his lips sealed and try to act decent in front of his father.

Of course, that was never going to happen...

* * *

"Why won't you?!" Boruto shouted with indignation, making his three other companions immediate grimace with reflexive embarrassment.

"Boruto, you know why," Naruto exasperatedly replied to his son. The day was nearing its end, and the light was dim in his eyes. He had commented on a television interview, helped carry out nearly forty five tasks in Konoha alone and then participated in some recon missions to help give some Jōnin time off this weekend. All of that was recently completed, culminating in some accumulated stress that was only magnified by his oldest child's rebellious antics; antics he had no time or desire to deal with at the moment. "We're at peace, so the missions you keep requesting don't exist. Even if they were, all of our older and more experienced Ninja are dealing with it. So if you'd just take what you can get, you'll eventually be good enough to gradually make your way up the ranks-"

"But I can do so much more!" The Uzumaki desperately exclaimed with beaming eyes and a smile that hurt his father inside. His hands moved to various signs, making him furrow his brows quizzically as he explained. "I can already use Wind, Lightning and Water Release! Even learning to use Chakra Nature Transformation! I'm so much better than you think I am!"

Breathing through his nostrils, Naruto looked skeptically at Konohamaru who immediately looked sheepish in his usually disarming grinning visage, "Konohamaru, what have you been teaching these three? This kind of training is far too advanced for Genin who only graduated a few months ago."

"Uh, sorry, but most of them already know more or less the basics with Chakra control and standard low level Jutsu," Konohamaru defended, trying to reason with his old friend and rival, with nervous hand movements to emphasize. "They're not run-of-the-mill Ninja who just graduated. They're cream of the crop, and I think they could stand to at least be sent out to C or even B level missions. If I'm around, even an A-Rank mission could be a piece of cake for us if our teamwork has been solid, which it HAS!"

"You know there's a reason why we don't rush things, right?" Shikamaru intervened, having stayed to the side of Naruto's paper piled desk. His own look of worry creased over his face as he argued for his superior's sake to the leader of the three impressionable Genin. "Humility and wisdom is obtained through steady progress. If even the most skilled of graduates are given difficult assignments, they will have no appreciation for being submitted mundane tasks or even have patience for ones that demand such a virtue. I can only imagine what would happen if Lord Nanadaime had been put into such a situation that you're wanting to give his son and his teammates-"

Coughing aloud, a slightly ruffled Naruto scratched his neck while shaking his head at his adviser. Watching him resign, the Hokage looked back at the four, especially at a depressed Boruto. A part of him remembered his own impatient yelping for a mission to prove himself and get affirmation.

Closing his eyes, rubbed the bridge of his nose with his right bandaged set of fingers while speaking to his son, "I'll see if there's a B-Rank mission in need of someone deserving of such skill, if what you and your superior just said. How does that sound?"

"Hope it doesn't put you out too much," Boruto sourly replied, turning his head and casting a glare at nothing in particular. Doubt was in his words and that only made Naruto feel hurt further inside.

If only to make things detour from the current train wreck of emotions, Sarada spoke up and earned Naruto's immediate attention.

"U-Um, L-Lord Hokage," She stuttered out, looking up with a blush of bashfulness spread across her face. "I-I was wondering...w-would it be possible if you could tell me if my father is coming back to the Village soon?"

An expectant look of wonderment was shared by Sakuya, keenly interested on the mysterious Sasuke Uchiha she had heard a lot about. The Hokage seemed to gain a far-off look in his eyes, as if he was wondering the same thing. Licking his lips he turned to look out the window and sigh as he turned his chair to face that direction.

"Who knows?"

Those two words were enough to make Sarada's hopes become dashed. She wanted something more concrete, or even some lingering sign that he could be here. Every day that passed made her wonder if she'd ever meet the man that was called her father. Gritting her teeth and closing her eyes, she turned to walk out suddenly, making the Jōnin call out for her.

"S-Sarada! We're not done-"

A opening of the door followed by it slamming, making the adult Sarutobi wince at the harsh departure.

"No, we are done," Naruto concurred, turning to clasp his hands into a bridge to be placed before his face. Stoically looking forward at all three, he intoned out loud in a diplomatic tone only someone of his position could have gained. "You're all dismissed until called upon again."

"T-Thank you, Lord Hokage," Konohamaru bowed apologetically and with understanding. With Sakuya likewise bowing and Boruto turning his back with a growl, the blonde found himself quickly walking out ahead of the other two. Once they exited, Konohamaru couldn't help but exasperatedly sigh. "That could've gone better..."

"Yeah, you can say that again," Sakuya said, following up with her turning to raise a hand of objection as her Jōnin jokingly tried to do so. When he relinquished, she noticed Boruto just lean against the hallway wall not far where Sarada had slumped down into a knee folded sitting position. She could practically taste disappointment it was so strong in the air.

"Well," Konohamaru lamely continued, walking past them to excuse himself from the otherwise saddened group of Genin. "I'll postpone any activities I had in mind today. Just get some rest and wake up early. We'll be having some new training, and it'll be advanced, per the usual," Turning to wink at Boruto and Sarada, he at least saw a hint of hope in their eyes that tomorrow would bear fruit of something positive. Waving back at Sakuya, he smiled sincerely at the Hatake Kunoichi. "See ya around!"

Leaving in a blink, it left Sakuya to fend for herself when it came to cheering them both up. She was beside herself at what to say, or what to tell them. She knew that the likelihood her words could get through to them was less than likely, but she couldn't just abandon them to their own wallowing in self pity.

" _Think, Sakuya! There has to be SOMETHING!_ " She groaned as she slapped her cheeks and closed her eyes, fierce with concentration.

While she stood in the middle of the Hokage Mansion hallway, she was unfortunately in the path of a running messenger. One of the hawk trainers whose duty was to keep the rarely used form of discreet communication between Villages and field agents, especially of the past. Shoving past her, she stumbled over and looked with angered disbelieve over her shoulder.

When he entered the doorway and closed it behind him, she huffed out loud with indignation, "Jerk! He could've at least tried to know I'm standing here. What kind of message is so important to run into me for?!"

Secret message was something that popped into both Sarada and Boruto's minds. It was one of the few things that the two really had in common. A side of mischief that they could collaborate on was finding things out they weren't supposed to. When both previously down Genin looked at each other, a slight smile worked its way on each other's faces and the pair scrambled on all fours past a bewildered Sakuya in a comical fashion.

Tip-toeing after them, she didn't have time to holler at their foolishness when they both pulled her down to their level to listen in. It was to their benefit that the door hadn't fully closed and a crack allowed them to hear and somewhat see into the office.

"...t's strange. Sasuke's still using the old system," Naruto spoke as he began unraveling a scroll. "Guess he gets no coverage where he goes, so grabbing a cell would be pointless."

"Is it another report?" Shikamaru had asked while tentatively leaning over to read for himself.

"No, it's...a request to meet with him. Alone," Narrowing his eyes, he read it over a few more times just to be sure. Sounding more serious than Boruto or the other two had heard him before, he stood upright and rolled the scroll up, handing it to Shikamaru. "Says he can't wait long and that he's not too far away. Guess he kept the message vague so that anyone intercepting it couldn't find out what he learned. Probably safer this way."

"Is it related to Kaguya?" Shikamaru inquired with curiosity, examining the scroll for a second before looking back up at Naruto.

"Don't know. Guess I'll find out tomorrow," He stroked his chin, thinking hard about the possible scenarios this entailed. Grinning, he looked over at his adviser with a definite sign of excitement. "But still, it's been a few years since I last saw the guy. It'll be cool to see him again!"

"Heh, I'm sure it will be," His old friend smiled wryly. Dipping into an air of caution, however, he spoke lowly as he motioned for the messenger to be dismissed. "Be careful. We don't know what he may be up against, if he's got his back against the wall."

"Don't worry," Naruto lowered his voice, pointing his thumb at his heart. "If Sasuke and I team up, there's no way we can lose!"

The Genin had scrambled as quickly as they could before the door opened again. Launching up into the ramparts of the hallway ceiling to let the messenger past underfoot, a sense of thrilling urgency was met. Sakuya already knew what Sarada wanted to do before she looked up at her as she looked to Boruto and her with conviction in her eyes.

"That settles it," She whispered. "Tomorrow, we're going to find my dad."

"Well, I won't let you do it alone," Sakuya promised, already knowing convincing her otherwise would be foolish. Earning a smile from the Uchiha Kunoichi, they both looked at Boruto. With mixed feelings on the matter, she knew that a part of him wanted to go while the other didn't want to be near his dad after what happened earlier. "Well? Coming with, partner?"

"Tch, as if I'd let you two have all the fun," He nodded, grinning with anticipation of his own. "Gotta say, I'm curious to see what your dad is like. I don't know much about him so it'll be cool to see what he's like."

"Then we're all in agreement," Sarada confirmed with a serious expression, keeping the topic serious. "We'll wake up early and wait near the Village gate, follow Lord 7th to wherever he plans to meet him."

"You got it!" The silver haired Kunoichi answered audibly while Boruto nodded.

"Great," Sarada smiled, glad to have support from her team. "Let's get some rest. I get the feeling we may be in for a long journey."

As the three dropped down and ran off, Sakuya couldn't help that someone was listening in. Even as she confirmed with her senses and her eyes that no one was around when they ran off she couldn't help it. Either way, they were far too committed to back down now.

Whatever happened tomorrow, they were going to see it through to the end, no matter how much trouble may await them.

* * *

 **A/N** : And finished! Whoo boy, what a way to start a new year, right?

A new enemy who ISN'T who you think attacks Sasuke! With Naruto being informed by his old friend about something urgent, what could this information be that not even a discreet message could relay? What has our absent Uchiha discovered that he needs to speak with the Hokage about in person? Whatever it may be, Team 7's Genin are determined to find out in the next Chapter of The Evening Saga!

For those who continually follow my story, for some reason, and have a problem with the origin of it, please educate yourself below.

 **Extra Note** : Okay, I didn't think I needed to defend myself writing a fictional piece as a fan, but here we go. I wrote the original story this is hinged on, "A New Beginning," as a nice AU One-Shot story for a friend. I wasn't originally all for the idea of Kakashi and Sakura being coupled together, but after I wrote it, I loved the end result. This doesn't mean I prefer other pairings from canon, far from it, I genuinely enjoy the original story. This is just me taking an original concept and taking it on a ride. This isn't me trying to vicariously live out my fantasies through a false pairing that never happened in the source material. So anyone who thinks to accuse me of being 'delusional' or seemingly out of my mind by writing this, I'm not. I'm writing this for recreational purposes, not to get me off on the idea Sakura and Kakashi banged in another timeline of my making. So for those who continue to post Reviews with nothing but slander and hate in them, please leave your problems at the preview area and DON'T bother reading.


	4. The Dawn's Rebirth

The Akatsuki.

An organization that to this day, in an era of peace, can be talked so casually among commoners. The very name used in hushed whispers and nervously exchanged even among the Kage of the Five Great Nations' Hidden Villages. They were brought up from nothing and used the world's chaos, turmoil and warfare to profit for the sake of a greater ideal.

Whether the world admitted it or not, the Ninja of today have finally surpassed their ancestors thanks to their existence.

But their destruction has led to a period of stagnation. From the place he heralded from he saw firsthand one of the strongest current Shinobi, had turn his back on those ideals. Itachi, his brother, was slaughtered in a duel but had promoted the goals of the Akatsuki for a time. After the Mugen Tsukuyomi was cast and the world was spared, he found out something strange. Sasuke was nowhere to be found and often did little to impact the world.

To spit on the graves of those who bled, fought and died for the sake of evolving the current human race was blasphemy to him. This man who no one knew existed save for one. He was eternal in the most biological sense. He knew he'd live on forever, no matter how many times he'd meet his end; passing on his war upon the stasis that the current leaders have put upon the populace.

His musings were brought to an end when one of his 'sons' returned to him in a shimmering motion of Shunshin. With white hair slicked back smooth against his scalp to form a slight rising crescent near the back of his head, the pale skinned duplicate's Sharingan looked low and respectful to his original. Wearing an angular collared light colored kosode with a black obi and a pair of black slacks leading to a pair of sandals.

"Father...I've come to bring you news...from one of our comrades," He spoke in a low whisper with gradual pauses between each set of words, not daring to raise his voice to his master.

"Speak," The Akatsuki radical - Shin Uchiha - granted the Clone free rein to deliver his message in full.

"They've made contact...with Sasuke Uchiha. As predicted...by our benefactor...he has emerged from a rift of space/time he had created. He made his move...but failed to take his life...or his powers," The Shinling explained in a slow, purposeful manner.

"As expected," Shin spoke lowly, more to himself than to his biological progeny. "He may have expended an enormous amount of Chakra during his journey and the return home to our world. But in the end, he is still Indra's reincarnation," Grasping his chin with his right arm, he mused to himself quietly so that only his genetic offspring could hear. "This needs a much more delicate approach."

"One of my...brothers...made a discovery," The Shinling spoke up, earning a nod of acknowledgement from his original. Thus, he continued to speak freely. "The Hokage of the Leaf has...left the Village. It is believed...that he'll make contact...with Sasuke. Three others of...interest...are in pursuit as well."

"Oh, and who are they?" He turned to look over his shoulder, casting an intimidating stare from a permanently opened right eye. This feature was responsible by a right temple to the bridge of the nose long scar. Its bloodshot sclera made his own Sharingan look all the more imposing with the eight stitches that held it in place.

Shivering slightly, the Clone addressed him with greater reverence than before, "It was...the son of the Hokage...the daughter of Sasuke...and the child of their mentor's, Kakashi Hatake."

"I see," He said with a pleased tone, turning to look at his faux child before him. He revealed a host of Sharingan staring at odd directions and only his right to left one looking forward, his own cloak was enamored with the red clouds on a black linen surface. The 'father' showed his joy in what his flesh and blood brought him by speaking in a louder voice. "The time to show the world that peace is a lie and that progress can be achieved only through continuous conflict is now. You shall bring me the daughter of Sasuke and either of the children you see fit."

"Which one...should I...choose?" The Shinling asked carefully.

A crooked grin on full display, Shin Uchiha gave his offspring a chuckle, "It does not matter. Dispose of the one you wish. We need only two of them intact, after all."

* * *

 **Chapter 4 - The Dawn's Rebirth**

* * *

"Man...we've been running for hours," Boruto griped, taking a breather by a tree he leaned against. His lungs feel like they were on fire. They had set out to track him after they watched pay pleasantries to his adviser before he set off.

What he hadn't expected was his kid sister running out in adorable fashion to give him a bento box. Watching him ruffle his sibling's head and leave not long after, they followed under the pretense of meeting up with their sensei for a round of teaching. He felt a small amount of regret leaving their Jōnin behind without a word, but this was for a teammate and a friend.

Even if he didn't like the distant nature of his father, he had far more respect for his team given the time and effort he spent with them. With a part of him excited to meet Sarada's father, it encouraged him that Sakuya had agreed wholeheartedly to aid the young Uchiha in her goal of locating her estranged parent. It obviously meant a lot to her, even if he couldn't comprehend it.

"Boruto, your dad is the Hokage," Sakuya corrected her pineapple headed friend after a swish of her water canteen was taken. Screwing the cap shut, she peered at the faint tracks left every so often by the leader of the Hidden Leaf. Squatting down she pressed her fingers down on it and barely felt the imprint, realizing it was a track only she could see which Boruto couldn't. "If he was going to work himself to the brink of collapse, I doubt he's out of shape."

"Tch, he spends his time running errands, doing interviews and sitting behind a desk," He grouched out, twisting his body around while maintaining a stern eye contact with the silver haired Kunoichi. "Those kinds of things don't exactly seem like intense training. I'm not saying he isn't tough, but an old fart like him couldn't have this kind of stamina."

Clapping was heard as Sarada had finished her own break. The two friends looked to see the spectacled girl look annoyed at Boruto but seem to drag it over to Sakuya as well. Sighing she adjusted her glasses while cutting in, "Guys, as much as I'd love to add my two cents to this, we need to get moving. Lord Nanadaime is on the move."

"Yeah, you're right," Sakuya realized, her own Sensory ability kicking on when she placed focus into it.

Returning to their run, it wasn't until they made it a few meters did a new signature appear to appear before their eyes. A shimmer of speed akin to how they've seen their Jōnin move kicked up a spiral of leaves, circling around a white and black clothed individual. From a crouch he slowly rose up in a slouching stand, his haunting pale skin, white hair and blazing red irises made them hesitate.

But what's more, he possessed the iconic mirror wheel eye of the Uchiha Clan, the Sharingan!

"Who are you?!" Sarada asked ahead of all three at seeing this. A sense of dread at knowing she may be related to this thing unnerved her. But the way he looked straight at her made her all the more fearful. "Why do you have the Sharingan?!"

"My name is...Shin...Uchiha," He slowly breathed out, his eyes observed the other two warily as the drops of leaves scattered around him. "Father said to...take you...with me."

"And if we don't wanna?!" Sakuya impulsively snarled out, taking a step forward with a raised fist clenched.

Pulling out a scroll from his sleeve, eerie designs of bronze color with red paper in appearance. With insistence in his voice, he raised the volume passionately, "Come!"

"Boy, you don't take rejection well, do ya?" Boruto growled out himself, stepping forward to be with Sakuya to defend their teammate. Sarada felt reassurance that her friends stood before her, but the sight of this Shin made her tremble. What connection did he have to her father?

Who is he?

"Father insisted I bring you...so...I must..."

 **Kuchiyose no Jutsu!**

"...even if by force!"

In a swift summon, a Fūma Shuriken is withdrawn by a chain attached by a slim bar within its inner ring. Based on the range, the three Genin could assume that he could reach about three times the distance that separated them now. With a glowing glare, he hefted the giant projectile with ease and thrust it towards the three with Sarada at its focal point.

The trio dodged, Sarada reacting instinctively by tossing three Kunai at her enemy's face. Using the links to deflect the weapons sent his way he'd find his weapon pinned when Sarada stomped on it in the middle of her jump. Turning to see three Boruto Clones surround him on all sides. Swinging their fists towards him, he'd evaporate before their eyes, leaping up and yanking the chain to entangle the Clones together. Landing upon them with the other end of his weapon piercing them with a knife's edge, they'd explode in a puff of smoke.

Leaping with impressive speed forward, Sakuya unsheathed her tantou and in a white spraying arc of light cut towards the Shinling. Dodging it with apparent ease through a bodily shift to the side, the antagonist stabbed towards the white haired girl's left eye. When the Hatake Kunoichi rolled with the edge that cut her cheek, she managed to twist around to perform a counter stroke with her chakra sabre towards his neck.

He stopped it with his free hand, catching the edge in the palm and receiving only a soft squelching gash from superior reaction timing.

"Fūton," Boruto intoned, appearing beneath Shin's left unprotected guard, slamming both palms into the hip. Lurching to the side with a look of surprise mingled with pain the bowed enemy was sent throttling back, crashing bodily into a tree with a loud crack. "Reppūshō!"

Staggering back to his feet, Shin brushed aside the dirt and debris on his coat while casually spitting out blood. Walking back slowly, his glare became more imposing as his brow creased forth and his irises shifted along with his pupils. They'd form a solid black sphere with three edges, a pulsing red dot forming where the center of his eyes once were once active.

"This Chakra-!" Sakuya gasped, feeling exactly what Sarada felt at that moment.

The jingling sound of the dropped weapons was heard a moment too late as a coil of chains wrapped around Sarada. Yelping out at the invisible force that constricted her the two other Genin watched as the chain detached from the Fūma Shuriken and the individual parts of the weapon formed four enormous arrow of steel. Launched like bullets, they moved with intense speed, soaring over Sarada as they moved directly towards her two friends.

"LOOK OUT!" She screamed as an explosive blast followed the impacts of the blades where her friends stood. Her breath hitched as the smoke cloud rose and the air grew quiet. The sudden pitting in her gut made her wonder if her friends escape the attack.

Then, a series of 'tsks' were heard on a nearby a shaded tree. Both Boruto and Sakuya looked bewildered till they saw their scarf toting Jōnin standing upright, a look of resigned disbelief on his face. Looking at them, he scratched his head when he caught sight of Shin Uchiha.

"Seriously you guys, this is the thanks I get? I was going to start teaching you some real cool stuff today and you ditch me for a hike out of Konoha? What would the other Jōnin say if I got left behind by my own team?" Konohamaru chided them, his grin becoming cheeky as renewed hope filled the entangled Sarada and the rescued two. "That'd never fly, I'd tell you that."

"Sensei Konohamaru!" Sakuya acknowledged with a shout of delight, never so happy to get someone's help till now.

"...w-we had it under control," Boruto lamely commented, looking away with shame.

"Sure ya did, hero," Konohamaru teased, crouching down as he looked towards Shin's livid visage. "Mangekyō Sharingan against kids? Don't you think it's a bit fair? I mean, come on, you're just about their age-"

Silently, Shin made Sakuya's tantou fly out of her grip again through a telekinetic field. The girl couldn't warn her Sensei as it thrust into his back and out his chest. A look of shock as blood sprayed from his torso as the edge of the weapon tore through him.

Simultaneously, the body puffed out in a cloud of smoke while a scarf lassoed out from above and ensnared the young Shinling down to the wrists. He budged and squirmed but he was completely at the mercy of a tree limb standing Konohamaru. The weapons that he had been manipulating spun towards his bindings all at once, moving at impressive velocity.

Undoing the snare with a twist of his hand, he jumped off his platform as the whole tree was severed in half from the force of the Mangekyō launched weapons.

" _Gauged by his means, it looks like he can move objects he touches with his hands using his Sharingan_ ," Konohamaru analyzed with a furrowed brow as Shin landed on the ground with a crouch. With a twisting snap, he broke Sarada free of her bindings, watching them carefully to see if they'd move once more. Seeing it wasn't the case, he wrapped his scarf around his right arm and charged it with Chakra till it glowed blue. " _Gotta make sure he doesn't touch my scarf in that case. Or my body, in case that goes doubly for people as well_."

Without any verbal flare, Shin attacked with his mind manipulated blades, sending them hurtling towards the Jōnin.

" **Katon, Obeki!** " The Sarutobi intoned, blasted off from Fire Nature Chakra beneath his sandal covered feet; a feat that his Clone had shown when rescuing the two Genin. Through this momentum he evaded the Sharingan shot attacks through a corkscrewing leap, grasping the thrown sword with his spare hand. With a throw under hand he watched Shin stop it by merely staring at it.

Grinning, he'd throw his arm forward and unravel the scarf in a dizzying spin towards the stationary Uchiha. When it stopped just short, blocked by Sarada's heirloom, an earsplitting shockwave detonated point blank in front of Shin. The fierceness of the blast tore apart his top and the frag kicked up by the blast lacerated his skin. Shin hurled blood and saliva, flung back like a rag doll through a distance of treeline that ended with him crashing through a trunk that left the last tree crashing to the side.

" **Fūton, Taifū Hebi**!" He yelled out with a victorious guffaw that left his team breathless.

"That was...amazing," Sakuya gaped out, having never seen someone move so fast and perform such a sly Jutsu with such precision or power. Inside she felt a sense of powerlessness as she couldn't handle the enemy, even with support. The gap between her and a fully fledged Ninja felt ever-so wide before her eyes.

"Wow! Good going, Sensei!" Boruto yipped with a fist pumping holler of delight.

"It isn't over..."

Sarada's words came out as a shiver just as their Jōnin's stance turned defensive. What came in return was a series of trees roaring forth like missiles. They blasted through anything in their path, a hail of monolithic projectiles moving far too fast for the instructor to both deflect and protect his team. Moving his hands to perform a Jutsu, he'd attempt to handle before it converged upon them.

Until, a spectacular flash of golden, fiery Chakra appeared in the form of a long shrouded arm. It smashed through all of the incoming trees, smashing them into splinters in vibrant blasts that turned them into crumbling embers. The spectacled girl, pineapple boy and silver-haired Kunoichi all turned with Konohamaru to see the golden caped, black undercloth with spiked burning Chakra coming up from his normally short blonde hair. Black spheres hovered behind his back in an arching formation, a cross-shaped pupil presiding within his golden irises, complemented by a number of tomoe circling a glowing spiral on the black surface of the normally orange long-shirt front beneath his Hokage cloak.

"D-Dad!" Boruto exclaimed with surprise, shared by the silent Sarada and Sakuya. Where did this Chakra come from, he wondered? He had no idea his dad was THIS strong!

"Sorry I didn't intervene till now," He apologized, a wry grin spread across his face as he locked eyes with the sheepish Konohamaru. "But I wanted to see how well you handled yourself."

"Haha! Thanks but-" The Sarutobi began to say, realizing the enemy was still in play. Turning to look where the boy once was, he saw the ragged child looked far more fierce than before. Not even deterred by his injuries, the blood smeared expression was enhanced by the red tears falling down his eyes as Chakra brimmed wildly around him. "Yeah...probably should finish him off."

"Sharingan, eh? I got a few questions for you," Naruto spoke calmly, maintaining a negotiable visage even as his Rikudou raiment maintained a luminous glow. "Do you happen to know the name Sasuke Uchiha? If so, what connection do you have to him?"

The Shinling just glared back, his teeth bared and a semblance of rage was triggered at the words the Nanadaime chose. Just as he flinched to make a move, a strange creature plopped next to his feet. The one thing that made it distinguishable from the Clone's distance from the others was the bright shine of a Sharingan in its lone bulbous face.

" **It's time for you to withdraw** ," A low, authoritative voice came through the entity that didn't belong to the grub, that much was clear. The two-legged, gimp armed monster possessed a small mouth of its own, using it to communicate on behalf of someone else more likely. " **He's the last opponent you should face alone**."

"Yes, father," He murmured with a bow. A maelstrom of twisting transparent Chakra malformed space and sucked it into the center of the small creature's eye. Disappearing in a blur they ceased to be sensed or saw from the group of Ninja present.

When nothing transpired for the next few seconds, the Hokage sighed with relief. His mantle of Tailed Beast Chakra dissipated till his normal apparel returned to full visibility. He did a once over more with normal Sage Mode, his ring-bordered eyes looking around their given area.

"His presence disappeared," Naruto confirmed out loud, his senses unable to determine where the entity and the boy went. Disengaging his connection with Nature Chakra, he looked down and spoke lowly to himself. "It seems they have Space/Time Ninjutsu as well. No wonder Sasuke wanted to meet with me personally..."

"U-Um," Sakuya spoke up hesitantly, earning both the Jōnin and the Nanadaime's attention. Bowing her head apologetically, she yanked Boruto by the collar to join her while Sarada joined due to her example. "I-I'm sorry for causing you both trouble. We were only trying to help Sarada find out more about her father. This was the only opportunity she was going to have and I didn't want to turn my back on her."

"W-What she said," Boruto spoke lamely, realizing that he may actually get a scolding for the first time in a long while.

But instead, they both heard the older Ninja just laugh. Looking up to see if they were mistaken, they saw a tired smile that revealed a lingering sadness in his eyes. Brightly, however, he grinned at them regardless of his thoughts.

"You guys remind me so much of my old Team 7 that I guess you tailing me is to be expected. I'm proud of you both," He turned, his eyes switching from Sakuya to Boruto, whom he remained staring while the boy looked up with a wide-eyed stare of awe in return. "Thanks for sticking up for your friend, even if what she did was dangerous or improper. Breaking the rules may sometimes may make you look like scum to most, but abandoning your friends makes you worse than scum."

His words hung in the air, affecting each individual that heard them. They were words that solidified his own Nindo and forged him into the man he is today. The foundation of his peaceful world relied upon them and were fundamental for how he treats every person under his care; either Genin or neighbour of the Land of Fire.

Trodding towards Sarada, he looked down at her, blinking curiously while maintaining a smile.

"Sarada, do you know why that boy targeted you?" He inquired.

"He called himself Shin...Uchiha," She replied, biting her lower lip as she averted his gaze. "I have no idea why but somehow I feel like he's connected to my father somehow. But he seems to be the son of another Uchiha, given he kept saying that he's following 'father's' orders."

"I see," Naruto's eyes hardened with his visage. Turning to look at Konohamaru, he stared at him seriously. "Konohamaru, I don't think at this point in time it's safe for you to return your team back. You should stay next to me, if they're after Sasuke's family, let alone my own."

"You're right," The Sarutobi Jōnin responded with a professional nod. "If they can appear and disappear at will, there's no telling when the next attack could happen. More than likely they'll reappear in greater numbers and better equipped. Three Genin or a Chūnin is what that guy could've easily handled. Between us two his leader may have deemed us too large of a threat to handle on his own, Mangekyō Sharingan or not."

"Agreed," The Hokage acknowledged, returning his attention to Sarada. Placing a hand upon her head she looked up almost star-gazed at the movement of affection given to her. "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you! Count on it!"

Unable to conceal a bashful smile, she blushed and teared up at the fatherly statement she received. She felt confident that this man would keep his word and follow through with what he said. This is the kind of man she could truly look up to, no matter what.

"Alright kids, stay close," Naruto commanded, his body already rearing back into a full-on sprint. Despite the commotion it was enough to allow them a moment's respite. Sprinting off into the horizon they'd pass by a number of trees, rolling meadows and vistas of evergreen as far as the eye could see. They were journeying deep into the Land of Fire, they just had no idea just how far their country truly extended; especially the uninhabited geenery.

Along the way, Sarada couldn't help break the silence of the long run by asking questions about her absent parent.

From the way the Hokage explained it there were striking traits that made him almost seem the opposite to him. Apart from a few exaggerations that she saw in him complimenting himself when it was unlikely the man whom she called father was stubborn, willful but incredibly determined. The fact this person who spoke of his awry guardian with such high respect gave her a glimmer of hope.

The deep longing within her was now empowered by these stories by the Hokage. She wanted to reach him, now more than ever. It became painful with every step closer they drew to their destination. The burning in her lungs and sweat running down her brow along with her aching muscles couldn't deter her from her objective.

Stopping for a break, she couldn't help but look over this rocky slope. There in the distance was a field of dead trees. She wondered how anyone could stand to be anywhere near such a creepy place. Yet, there it was, a lone castle of white brick and red tiles stood up erect to the point of being four stories; taller than the land of dead wood.

"Alright, let's take a small break," Naruto sat down with sigh, letting his legs hang off the cliff of towering sediment they stood upon. "Everyone, take a load off. We'll just catch our breath before meeting up with Sasuke."

"But...we're almost there! Just a little longer," Sarada insisted, much to Sakuya's dismay.

"It's alright, Sasuke can wait a little longer," The Nanadaime shook his head.

"Ah...ummm," She squirmed in place, trying to look embarassed. "I...gotta go..."

"Uh, okay," The blonde Shinobi acquiesced with a sheepish chuckle. "Just don't wander too far."

In a hop, she let herself fall before kicking off the rock face. Propelling farther and farther away she was unaware that her team, sensei and the Hokage were very aware of her movements. But it didn't matter.

Nothing else mattered but seeing the one she desperately wanted to lay eyes upon.

That pain made her heart throb and her aches in her body became a solid numbness. Unaware of the transformation taking place, her Chakra used this emotional catalyst to form a pair of crimson eyes behind her glasses. Each one contained a tomoe, staring ahead while her own mind's eye saw a shrouded figure she wanted to embrace.

Moving past the withered trees, she dropped before the old fortress doorway. The sign of "Mountain Pass Tower" presided above a tomoe emblazoned door with a series of red stripes and a burgundy diamond at its center. Pushing them aside, she stumbled inside and gasped for breath, unable to put aside such a basic need any longer. Before her was a large pillar with a black painted surface surrounding it with two stripes covering its base and the top while mostly being white in color.

"Where is he-?"

"You've done well to find this place," A voice sounded from nearby, interrupting her own. Looking over to her left she was taken aback to see him. Apart from a partly scuffed cloak and dirtied pair of black to grey traveler's clothes, the man holding a drawn katana was her father. The onyx hair with spiked ends had its bangs rest purposefully over his left eye, obscuring it, while his right Sharingan lit eye stared ahead.

"Dad..." She hiccupped out, tears flowing freely from her own crimson glowing eyes.

When their eyes met, his sword lowered and his breath hitched. He almost thought someone was playing tricks, but the enemy wasn't responsible for this. He'd know for a fact. So, he couldn't help but choke out with stark surprise, "Sarada...is that...you?"

* * *

 **A/N** : And that's a wrap! Daughter and father are reunited at long last! But, what of the enemy that seeks both of them? Are they safe or is this just the beginning of their worries? Their enemy, Shin Uchiha and his clones hot on their trail, find out what becomes of them in the next exciting chapter of Naruto: The Evening Saga!


End file.
